Unapproved cancer drugs into U.S.
 

I heard about this on the radio so I googled to find the story. Pretty scary to think a doctor/oncologist would do something like this. It so happens this is close to the area I live...so it kind of hit home with me. It just goes to show this kind of thing can happen anywhere. How could this onc sleep at night. Glad they caught up to him!

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cancerdrugs16-2008aug16,0,87467.story?track=rss


Chelee

This same article I posted takes you to a link of Oncology to check out your oncologists backround. I was reading this guys backround and I see he does seminars at UCLA. Here is a bit of his history if anyone is interested and I will also attached the link to this page in case you want to see a picture of this oncologist.

>>>>Dr. Patwardhan is on the active medical staff at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center in the city of Pomona, Chino Valley Medical Center in Chino, Doctors Hospital in Montclair, and Kindred Hospital in Ontario. Dr. Patwardhan is a frequent participant in oncology seminars at UCLA Medical Center, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Southern California Association of Clinical Oncologist's (SCACO) and American Association of Clinical Oncologist (ASCO). He also frequently attends tumor board committee presentations at many well-known California hospitals.
In private, Dr. Patwardhan is an avid runner, who stresses that activity is a key to good health for his patients. Dr. Pat has four children and is also a spirited bridge player.>>>>>

Here's the link to his picture if your interested.

http://communityoncologygroup.com/AboutUs.htm

Chelee

Umapproved cancer drugs into U. S.
 

I did a search on Docetax, one of the drugs listed in the article and guess what results came up?

Docetaxel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Docetaxel is a clinically well established anti-mitotic chemotherapy medication ... Docetaxel's O-21 experiences electrostatic attraction to Thr-276 and the C-12 ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docetaxel - 116k - Cached
MedlinePlus Drug Information: Docetaxel Injection


Docetaxel injection may cause low levels of white blood cells in the blood. ... You should not become pregnant while you are using docetaxel injection. ...
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a696031.html - Cached
docetaxel: Information and Much More from Answers.com


Docetaxel Key Terms: 10-deacetyl baccatin III , Hypersensitivity , Microtubles , Taxoids. ... Docetaxel is an antineoplastic agent used to treat breast cancer ...
www.answers.com/topic/docetaxel-taxotere - 139k - Cached
Docetaxel, Taxotere - Chemotherapy Drugs, Chemo Drug Side Effects


Docetaxel is an anti-cancer (antineoplastic or cytotoxic) ... trade name for docetaxel. ... The amount of docetaxel that you will receive depends on many ...
www.chemocare.com/bio/docetaxel.asp - Cached
docetaxel - Cancer Information (Cancers, Symptoms, Treatment) on ...


Information on many different cancers includes symptoms, cancer detection and prevention, and treatment options. ... Docetaxel works by attacking cancer cells. ...
www.medicinenet.com/docetaxel/article.htm - 56k - Cached

My first reaction was that he just wanted to help his patient. Just like some of our members started getting Herceptin (or other chemo drugs) before it was approved by the FDA.

Then I did a little bit search through the American Medical Association Doctor Finder, he was not listed. I tried the non-member search and sure enough, he is listed as a non-member.

Vinod C Patwardhan , MD (Non-Member)

Primary Specialty (Self Designated)(note):
MEDICAL ONCOLOGY
Location:
Upland, CA 91786 American Board of Medical Specialties Certification:
Copyright 2006 American Board of Medical Specialties. All rights reserved.
Internal Medicine

And the (self designated) specialty in medical oncology makes one wonder about his credential. It looks like he is only certified for internal medicine. He decided that he could treat cancer patient without the certification...

Indeed it is scary.

Guess we need to pay more respect to our oncologists...
(We've already treat them like our 'savior', haven't we?)